PRISON BREAK

PRISON BREAK:

The Apostle Paul wrote many of the “books” of the New Testament. What we typically call “books” were actually letters (epistles) written to the various churches Paul had planted on his missionary journeys. Romans was written to the church in Rome; Corinthians was written to the church in Corinth; Philippians to the church at Philippi; and Galatians was written to the churches in the Galactic Region.

What’s interesting is that many of these letters were written while Paul was imprisoned. Paul did not set out to establish an institution, i.e. “The Church,” but rather local churches - unique and diverse geographical expressions of Christ’s Bride.

Throughout his letters we find Paul addressing local congregations grappling with various issues. These issues range from wonky theology (worshipping angels, mysticism, legalism, and secret knowledge) to straight up corruption: theft, selfishness, laziness, drunkenness, homosexuality, vulgarity, etc.

Paul wasn’t some rogue missionary out to fulfill or accomplish a personal agenda or vision of ministry. Paul was under the authority of, and commissioned by, the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1 when he’s still known as Saul).

What made Paul an Apostle was the fact that he had a face-to-face personal encounter with Jesus Christ and was personally commissioned by Him; but what truly made Paul an effective disciple and missionary was the fact that he submitted to both 1) the authority of the local church, and 2) to the purpose of God.

In our culture today churches typically advertise and interview senior pastors by asking them to submit sermon videos. What churches disclose in this is that they are more interested in finding out if you can entertain an audience than how well you love people.

While committees and boards continue to chase after the polished, funny, witty, engaging speakers - church attendance continues to drop. Less than 20% of Americans attend church on a regular basis. There isn’t a single state in the U.S. where church growth matches or exceeds population growth. In fact, across the board church growth is about 75% below what it should be in order to match population growth.

In my estimation, the two main reason for this decline are: 1) Authority, and 2) Mission.

What I mean by authority is that people are not willing to submit to it. I’m not talking about lost, unbelieving, rebels against God - that’s expected. I’m talking about those who are professing born-again believers redeemed in Christ.

I’m absolutely NOT talking about blindly following some church, preacher, or pastor. That’s how people end up tragically disgruntled or dead with a cup of Kool Aid in their hand. I’m talking about personal awareness and discernment regarding God’s word and being a part of a local congregation where it’s not merely preached in a sterile vacuum on Sunday, but actually lived out by the people of that community (Acts 17:11).

Authority means being subject and obedient to God, His Word, His Church, church leaders, His call on your life, your marriage, your children, with your finances, with your time, with your skills, and with all your gifts and talents. It’s not about showing up for an hour a few times a year before you grab brunch and watch the game.

Paul submitted to the authority of God, to the Church, its leaders, God’s call on his life, with his time, his skills, gifts, and talents; but that’s COMPLETELY insufficient.

In submitting to the AUTHORITY of God, Paul ALSO obediently submitted, and voluntarily subjected, himself to the MISSION of God; viz. to bless all the families, tribes, and nations on earth with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Submission to authority apart from identification with mission is convenient religion - not faith.

The MISSION of God is the framework for understanding His AUTHORITY and sovereignty. Authority becomes a very ambiguous, non-descript, obscure, and vague thing when removed from the clarity and illumination of MISSION (Gen 12:3; Isa 49:6; John 3:16). Apart from MISSION we are left without direction, purpose, and accountability. It merely becomes a matter of personal opinion, preference, and convenience.

Paul was under God’s AUTHORITY -and- intimately identified with His MISSION. Paul was furiously planting churches, grooming leaders, training, teaching, and helping. So after being imprisoned in Rome (see Acts 24:27; 28:30-31) Paul’s initial instinct might have been to escape in order to get back to “the important stuff.” Thankfully that wasn’t the case. God provided Paul with a completely different kind of Prison Break…

Paul began to write what are frequently referred to as Prison Letters, or probably more accurately “Captivity Epistles” (Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon). Because of Paul’s identification with God’s MISSION - the AUTHORITY of God was tangible and manifest in Paul’s life. God’s idea of a Prison Break wasn’t the Hollywood version, but rather a complete break from overloaded busyness, from planning, from rushing, from meetings, and power lunches.

Thankfully, God’s Prison Break was a time of solitude, personal evangelism, prayer, reflection, and writing for Paul.

Because Paul was completely invested in God’s MISSION and under His sovereign AUTHORITY, when the Prison Break came Paul was perfectly content. Rather than seeing it as abandonment - Paul saw it as opportunity, thus sharing the gospel resulting in it becoming known throughout the whole imperial guard (Phil 1:13).

During His captivity Paul wrote to the church at Philippi and stated, “For God as my witness, how I deeply miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can determine what really matters - and that you can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ.”

Dirty, gritty, imprisoned, poor, scrappy, relentless shepherds. Those are exactly the kind of men God has always chosen to lead His people. He knocked prideful, arrogant, pompous Moses down off his pedestal and sent him to become a literal shepherd for 40 years before He called him to emancipate Israel. The people chose tall, dark, and handsome Saul. God chose David the rejected shepherd boy whose own father was embarrassed of him. The Corinthians rejected Paul in favor of “super-apostles” - polished, articulate, preppy, well-to-do types.

Scrappy shepherds aren’t the kind of men the church looks for today as leaders. We want Moses, prince of Egypt, not Moses the shepherd. We want tall, dark, and handsome Saul - not David the shepherd boy. We want super-apostles with big white smiles, flowing locks, and book deals - not the man who prays for the church’s growth, knowledge, discernment, and what “really matters.”

From captivity Paul made it a point to write a letter and share with his friends in Philippi that he deeply missed them, and was praying for them that their love would continue to grow in 1) knowledge, and 2) discernment - so that - they could determine what REALLY matters, i.e. “live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil 1:27).

In Chapter 2 of Philippians Paul paints the clearest picture of what REALLY matters when he writes, “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves…” Then from 2:5-11 Paul reveals Jesus as the epitome of humility, sacrificial love, purpose, mission, and authority.

Are you perpetually consumed with busy? Are you overwhelmed with the daunting task of day-to-day life? Job, kids, sports, church, small group, volunteering, music lessons, after school, before school, the gym, the grocery store, the house, the yard, the dog, the baby…

How many of those things are under God’s AUTHORITY? You’ll know when you ask, “How do they explicitly fit in with or contribute to God’s MISSION to be a blessing to all families, tribes, and peoples on earth?” How many of those things are being done out of rivalry or conceit? How many are done in thinking of others as more important than yourself?

Do you want your life to count for something worthwhile? Want it to count for the gospel? Ask God for a Prison Break like Paul’s. Pray, share, love, and give. Then watch the amazing and supernatural happen as your love for people impacts, transforms, and overflows! Watch as your life is woven into God’s missional masterpiece of bringing salvation to the ends of the earth.

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com